Ýerbent
Ýerbent, also known in Russian as Erbent, is a village in Ahal Province in central Turkmenistan. The village is located in the Garagum Desert and is the second largest settlement on the road between Aşgabat and Daşoguz, which are located near the southern and northern border of the country respectively. In 2022, it had a population of 2,561 people. Ýerbent is surbordinate to the town of Bokurdak.
Overview
The village-scape primarily consists of single-story buildings with adjacent yurts. A pastoral economy has resulted in the desertification of surrounding areas.The village remains a popular destination aimed at providing tourists with an "authentic experience" of life in the Garagum Desert. A Soviet-era monument in the village center—featuring a Turkmen lady with a hung head—commemorates the death of 11 men who fell during the 1931 Basmachi Revolt in their quest of ensuring the "triumph of socialism, realization of dictatorship of the proletariat, and collectivization of agriculture."
Climate
Like most of Turkmenistan, Ýerbent has a continental cold desert climate with cold winters and very hot and sunny summers. The village has an annual average temperature of. July is the hottest month, with a daily mean of and an average high of. January is the coldest month, with a daily mean of and an average low of.Ýerbent's location in the middle of the Garagum Desert means it is very dry throughout the year, although winter and spring are slightly wetter and summer is especially dry. Ýerbent receives of precipitation in total, spread out over an average of 42 days per year. Ýerbent is also sunny year-round, receiving over 3000 hours of sunshine annually on average, with July being the sunniest month and summer being the sunniest season. Humidity is lower in the summer than in the winter, dropping as low as 25% in August. However, it rises to 74% in December.